Today, Chief Judge Stark scheduled an in-person hearing for July 1, 2020—one day after the expiration of the current standing order re: COVID-19.
The Court's current standing order does not preclude in-person hearings, but the Court has been holding hearings telephonically or by video conference during the pandemic. This order shows that the Court--or at least Chief Judge Stark—is hoping to restart some in-person hearings relatively soon.
The full text of the Court's oral order is:
ORAL ORDER: IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the Court will hear argument on the post-trial motions on July 1, 2020 beginning at 1:00 p.m. Each side will be allocated up to one (1) hour to present its argument. This hearing is tentatively scheduled to be held in Courtroom 6B, and the Court is hopeful it will be able to safely be in the courtroom on the scheduled date. If this is not possible, the hearing will be held remotely via teleconference or videoconference. Regardless of how the hearing is conducted, the parties shall submit electronic versions of any slides or other demonstrative materials they may refer to by no later than 4:00 p.m. the day before the hearing. ORDERED by Judge Leonard P. Stark on 5/27/20. (ntl) (Entered: 05/27/2020)
Wasica Finance GmbH et al v. Schrader International Inc., C.A. No. 13-1353-LPS, D.I. 244 (D. Del. May 27, 2020) (emphasis added).
Chief Judge Stark also has at least one jury trial currently scheduled for July. In A. O. Smith Corporation v. Bradford White Corporation, C.A. No. 18-412-LPS, he issued an oral order today (D.I. 157) asking the parties for a status report as to the state of their preparations for that trial in light of the ongoing pandemic.
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